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A new poll from the Coalition For Public Safety shows a majority of Ohio voters support justice reform. The sentiment is shared by Ohioans of all stripes, including a significant number of those in the Statehouse, as evidenced by the support and passage in the Ohio House of House Bill 347 -- a bill that would end the practice of seizing private property from individuals who are suspected (but not convicted) of having taken part in a crime. The bill has yet to pass the Ohio Senate.

Today, Ohio State Senators Kris Jordan (R-19) and Cecil Thomas (D-9) were joined by FreedomWorks President and CEO Adam Brandon and U.S. Justice Action Network Executive Director Holly Harris to push for passage of H.B. 347, a bill to reform Ohio’s civil asset forfeiture laws. On the call, Brandon announced that Ohioans have inundated state legislators with nearly 52,000 messages of support.

FreedomWorks and the U.S. Justice Action Network today urged the Ohio Senate to take action on civil asset forfeiture reform legislation, HB 347. This bill would restore due process rights in forfeiture cases and protect the private property of innocent owners. Since June 13, FreedomWorks has driven more than 10,600 emails to Ohio Senate Democratic and Republican leadership urging them to quickly move HB 347 through the upper chamber.

On Wednesday, May 18 FreedomWorks Director of Communications Jason Pye traveled to Columbus, Ohio to be part of a panel for the Fair Sentencing and Fair Chances National Tour by the Coalition for Public Safety. The panel was co-hosted by the Buckeye Institute and focused on a bipartisan push for justice reform.

In a 9-4 bipartisan vote Tuesday, the Ohio House Judiciary Committee approved HB 347. The bill is sponsored by both Reps. Rob McColley (R-Napoleon) and Thomas Brinkman (R-Mt. Lookout). This advancement is a major step in progress for civil asset forfeiture reform goals but, more importantly, for Ohioans.

Six years after ranking fifth in the nation, Ohio’s public education system has fallen to 23rd. The annual Quality Counts report by Education Week includes indicators such as test scores, education finance, and graduation rates to determine a score out of 100. The best state in each category receives 100, and all other states are graded relative to that state. Ohio received a score of 74.9, a C.

“I had no idea something like this could happen in America.” That’s what Antoinette Lattimore, a resident of North College Hill near Cincinnati, said about the seizure of the $19,660 in cash she was carrying on a road trip in 2013 to Tucson, Arizona, where she hoped to purchase African art.